Editorial: Stop robbing prevention to pay for fighting fires

11:15 AM,
Mar. 19, 2014

The Rim Fire burns through trees near Yosemite National Park, Calif., in August 2013.

Written by

The Opinion of the RGJ Editorial Board

In 2013, the U.S. government spent $500 million more than it had budgeted to fight wildland fires.

In fact, government firefighting efforts have gone over budget in eight of the past 10 years, with most of the additional money coming out of fire restoration and prevention programs.

And, given the drought that has plagued most of the West in the past year and fire conditions that are being described as dire, the odds are that it's going to take even more money this summer to fight wildfires. ...